Thursday, January 8, 2015

I seem to have misplaced my Tauntaun

When I fell asleep Tuesday night it was winter in New England; temperatures in the low teens and a dusting of snow. I seem to have awoken in Hoth, because all I keep hearing about is this damn Arctic Blast, and I've seen a lot of negative numbers. The wind is in full force, and I am fighting hibernation mode once again. This is the worst.

That said, I believe I still owe you some opinions regarding the close of 2014. I have not forgotten, though I have admittedly been procrastinating. The first week of the year was a busy one, but the good kind of busy...and productive! I will warn you, my productivity did not include uploading pictures to my computer, so brace yourself for a whole mess of uninterrupted words...

July began with much promise, and did not disappoint. We headed to Foxboro on the 3rd for the Finish on the Fifty 5K at Gillette, which was a blast. I was at a horse show in Northampton, MA on the Fourth, so I missed out on fireworks. I definitely can't complain; I stayed at a Comfort Inn with a fitness center and indoor pool...both of which I took full advantage of. I'll just save myself for the Magic Kingdom's Nighttime Spectacular, thank you. Came home on the 6th for something called Urban Dare Adventure Race with my friend Sarah. It was a little lamer than we had hoped for, but that's not to say we didn't have a great time. I had bought a groupon so it was half price; it totally is not worth the full amount.
I spent the next week working at a horse show in CT, then on the 12th Mom and I drove to PA to see the Zac Brown Band. The show was just west of Pittsburgh, and we had booked a camp site at a state park a few miles down the road. If you would ever like to venture to the middle of nowhere and take the coldest showers of your life, I highly recommend it. The show was phenomenal; I would go see them again in a heartbeat. They did a little acoustic set in the middle, and Zac covered GnR's Patience. It made my night. We camped a couple nights and had some adventures in the boonies before packing up and coming home to civilization.
Mid-July was pretty low key; I did a bit of catering work and took Odie on some beach outings...
Pre-dawn on the 26th, Mom and I once again packed up her Honda Fit and hit the road. This time the drive was much longer; 14 hours to Kawkawlin, MI. One night there and then north through the thickest fog we have ever seen to Mackinaw City. We had breakfast, did some shopping, and Mom freaked out when a statue came to life before her eyes. Clearly we were unaware that he was a LIVING statue, and a damn good one at that. Haha.
I could write an entire post on Mackinac Island alone. We had both been wanting to go there for years, and it far exceeded our expectations. Our quaint motel on the mainland, the short ferry ride amidst beautiful scenery, and of course the island itself. We stayed busy for two days straight, trying to take it all in. We walked a lot, climbed infinite numbers of stairs, drank $20 glasses of wine in the Grand Hotel, bottle-fed baby deer, and defied gravity in the Mystery Spot. I really cannot say enough about how great that trip was. I would do it all again, but next time I think I'd stay on the island so I could do the ghost tour at night.

August kept me pretty busy with a horse show every week, some more great adventures, and a sprained MCL. You can hear all about it in a day or two. I'm out for now. There's a warm couch with a puppy that's calling my name.